Response to "How Does Jane Survive?"

Jane Eyre's character portrays a determined young woman, who yearns for an education and fair treatment. She had been abandoned by all parent figures since birth: her parents died when she was born, her aunt rejected her, and at her school, she is shunned by teachers and the head master. At the age of nineteen she escapes from her past to start a new life as a governess with Mrs. Fairfax, who Jane believes to be "..a model of elderly English respectability.", (Bronte. 91). Jane strove for respect her whole life and she believed she would have the rights any woman in the 1800's could have, at Thornfield. Similiar to Jane, most characters in Jane Eyre have balanced lives, containing hardships and triumphs throughout. For example, Rochester describes his marriage to Jane "I found her[Antoinette] nature wholly alien to me ... I tried to devour my repentance and disgust in secret.." (Bronte, 330). This marriage is his downfall, but Rochester's love for Jane is his victory. Jane Eyre survives because the present happiness she feels with Rochester compensates for her doomed childhood and adolescent years.